Good morning. EPA is moving to repeal federal power-plant carbon rules, the Iran war is pushing winter heating costs higher, and satellite imagery has revealed xAI's vast new battery installation in Memphis.
Top Stories
EPA MOVES TO REPEAL POWER-PLANT CARBON RULES
Reuters
The agency is expected to repeal Biden-era carbon standards for coal- and gas-fired plants and separately propose rescinding its finding that power-plant greenhouse gases endanger public health. The actions are expected to face legal challenges.
HEATING-OIL BILLS HEADED 30% HIGHER
CNN Business
The Iran war and higher crude prices are expected to push the average winter heating-oil bill near $2,300. Electric heat is projected to cost 9% more, while natural-gas heating rises 5.8%.
XAI MAY HAVE BUILT THE COUNTRY'S BIGGEST BATTERY
Canary Media
Satellite imagery shows 720 Tesla Megapack containers at Colossus 2, about 2.8 GWh. A SpaceXAI executive told TVA's board the site holds 3.3 GWh, which would just edge California's Edwards & Sanborn, but the company will not confirm the size and the system is not yet grid-connected.
ERCOT SURVEYS 461 DATA CENTERS AS IT VETS THE QUEUE
Houston Public Media
Texas grid managers will question projects on power, water, subsidies and ownership while some large-load connections remain paused. It is the state's first systematic attempt to separate real demand from speculative requests.
LINE 5 SPILL RELEASED 1.3 MILLION GALLONS
Detroit Free Press
A parked contractor truck rolled into an excavation and struck the pipeline near Saxon, Wisconsin, on August 25. The estimated 31,000-barrel release of propane and butane shut Line 5 for weeks while Enbridge built a temporary bypass.
Power & Grid
PENNSYLVANIA REOPENS THE RULES FOR DATA-CENTER POWER
Utility Dive
Regulators will review emergency curtailment, cost allocation, rate-case transparency and utility returns as industrial load is forecast to grow 18.56% in five years. PJM projects a 6,831 MW reliability shortfall for 2028-29.
SOLAR PANELS HAVE BECOME “OFFENSIVELY CHEAP”
Financial Times
A flood of low-cost equipment from China has pushed module prices toward $1 per watt, down from about $7.50 in 2010. Solar supplied 81% of new renewable capacity added worldwide in 2024.
SOLAR AND STORAGE SUPPLIED 70% OF NEW GRID CAPACITY
Quartz
The two technologies accounted for seven of every ten megawatts added to the U.S. grid in the first half of 2026, with most of that construction concentrated in states that voted Republican in 2024.
IDAHO COUNTY RETHINKS ITS RENEWABLES BAN
Canary Media
Bannock County prohibited utility-scale wind and solar in 2024. Commissioners are now considering a replacement ordinance that would allow solar, wind and nuclear development.
TRADE WARS HIT EVS, BATTERIES AND THE GRID
POLITICO
Tariffs and trade barriers are raising the cost of electric vehicles, batteries and grid equipment. The result could slow an electrification drive already straining against supply-chain bottlenecks.
Data Centers
ORACLE PLEDGES 2 GW OF RENEWABLES, BUT STARGATE STAYS ON GAS
Ars Technica
Oracle is seeking New Mexico renewable projects while its $165 billion Project Jupiter campus remains slated to run 2.45 GW of natural-gas fuel cells. The renewable power would provide emissions matching rather than directly serve the facility.
AI AGENTS TURN ONE PROMPT INTO HUNDREDS
WIRED
Autonomous systems can work for hours and generate repeated sub-prompts, consuming far more energy than a chatbot answer. That shift helps explain why technology companies are planning data centers on an unprecedented scale.
AI HYPERSCALERS FEAST ON A NEW TAX BREAK
POLITICO
A 2025 incentive allowing faster write-offs for capital investment was not built specifically for artificial intelligence. Hyperscalers are making heavy use of it as data-center spending drives corporate tax payments lower.
SPACE SOLAR AIMS TO KEEP DATA CENTERS RUNNING AFTER DARK
The Washington Post
Startups want satellites to collect uninterrupted sunlight and beam the energy to terrestrial solar farms. The approach could more than triple a conventional solar farm's output, but it remains technically and economically unproven.
DATA CENTERS OPEN THEIR DOORS AS BACKLASH BUILDS
Bloomberg Law
Developers are responding to opposition with open houses, community-benefit agreements and a sharper case for permits and tax incentives. The strategy reflects how quickly local resistance has become a national industry problem.
Stat of the Day
191.8 GW
Power requested by 362 large-load projects in ERCOT's preliminary Batch Zero study
Separate from the 461-facility survey, Batch Zero is the queue ERCOT is vetting for readiness. Its requests equal roughly twice Texas' all-time peak demand.
Houston Public Media ↗